By MAIRE ROWLAND
The celebration of Women’s Day in Albania (March 8) is a fun and liberating affair, women stroll the streets with flowers in hand and girls dress up, dine and party together regardless of their age. It seemed fitting that this was the day chosen to launch a feminist video about Albanian society in the artistic and relaxed surrounds of Tulla Cultural Center in Tirana. This is a day to celebrate women and to talk about women and their lives. The concept of the video was created by Aine Treanor, an Irish volunteer currently living in Tirana.
With the aid of enthusiastic Albanian activists, she wanted to make a video that allowed women in Albania to talk about their experiences of shame and sexism. She created a space for Albanian women to express their frustrations and experiences in a safe environment. The participants in the video ranged in age, with some as young as sixteen. Watching this fifteen minute short film provides a current and important insight into the problems faced by women in Albanian society. From street harassment to domestic violence, sexism in schools and arranged marriages, the obstacles Albanian women encounter in search of equality are numerous and difficult.
Tea Hodaj is a nineteen year old Tirana native, she identifies as a feminist and as well as participating in the video she is part of an active Facebook group of Albanian feminists. The group boasts over 6,000 members who frequently post and debate issues relating to gender inequality in the country. Most discussions are in relation to the media’s portrayal of women and various legal difficulties that Albanian women in the workplace and the home. For Tea, the most important issue to challenge in modern Albania is the pervasive and strong gender roles that men and women are expected to adhere to.
According to Tea, women in Albania are expected to be weak, delicate and submissive housewives while men should be strong and aggressive breadwinners. She feels that it is important for the new generation of Albania women to challenge this narrative in their own homes, with their parents and their siblings. She has encountered conflict within her own family for refusing to be treated differently from her brother and insisting to share housework equally, but she says there has been a positive outcome. Her family are starting to see things from her point of view and rethinking the way they treat their children. Tea says that the pressure on Albanian women to marry and have a family is still great.
Women that choose to pursue a career over marrying young or those who remain single in their late twenties or early thirties are looked upon with pity. They are seen as unfortunate, unlucky to not have a man and often perceived as failures. Through raising awareness through social media and participating in projects to empower women, like the video, Tea hopes to inspire and encourage more young women in Albania to confront the inequalities they face. Local feminist punk band, Pre Menstrual Syndrome, ended the video launch in Tulla with a performance of songs with a smack of optimism.
The comfortable way these young women parade around stage, exuding confidence and charm while playing their own instruments, created a true symbol of female empowerment. A crew of fierce women playing “men’s music” , it felt like they were beacons for a future and more equal Albanian society.
